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CIA stairwell attack among flood of sexual misconduct complaints
at spy agency
BY JIM MUSTIAN AND JOSHUA GOODMAN
Updated 12:56 PM PDT, August 24, 2023
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — In a secluded stairwell at CIA headquarters last year, officer trainee Ashkan Bayatpour came up behind a colleague, wrapped a scarf around her neck and plainly spoke as he tried to kiss her on the mouth.
“There are many uses for this,” the woman recalls him saying. “This is what I want to do to you.”
Bayatpour was convicted Wednesday of a state misdemeanor charge of assault and battery in a case that was remarkable for breaking through the CIA’s veil of ultra-secrecy and playing out in a public courtroom where it has emboldened a sexual misconduct reckoning.
At least two-dozen women have come forward in recent months with their own complaints of abusive treatment within the CIA, telling authorities and Congress not only about sexual assaults, unwanted touching and coercion but of what they contend is a campaign by the spy agency to keep them from speaking out, with dire warnings it could wreck their careers and even endanger national security.
Please go to the Associated Press for the rest of this article.
Three firefighters charged in rape of colleague’s sister
after making disturbing search about DNA
By MaryAnn Martinez, NYPost
Published Sep. 1, 2023, 4:10 p.m. ET
Three New Mexico firefighters have been charged with gang-raping a colleague’s sister — with an affidavit claiming one even searched for, “How long does DNA stay in vagina?”
Albuquerque Fire Rescue Lt. Aden Heyman, 46, Firefighter Angel Portillo, 32, and since-retired driver Anthony Martin, 44, were busted Wednesday and charged with second-degree rape, KOB4 said.
The woman — whose sister worked with the trio — agreed to go to Martin’s home on July 15 after spending the day drinking with him and Portillo at a golf tournament, according to police documents obtained by the Albuquerque Journal.
There, they “were swimming, laughing and having fun” — until Heyman arrived and “the energy shifted,” the women told cops, according to the documents.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue Lt. Aden Heyman, 46, Firefighter Angel Portillo, 32, and Anthony Martin, 44,
have been charged with criminal sexual penetration after their arrest on Wednesday.
KOB
She detailed how she “began to fade” — and when she came to, Heyman was “instructing the other two” and “coaching them” on how to assault her, the report said.
She eventually escaped by climbing through a bathroom window and was found curled up and crying outside the apartment complex, the documents said.
After the woman went to police, a search of her relative’s phone showed messages between the victim’s family member and the accused firefighters.
The woman says she climbed out a window after being gang-raped, police affidavits show.
KOB
In the days that followed, the trio exchanged text messages vowing to keep quiet about what happened, the documents said.
Heyman allegedly texted that the woman doesn’t “want people knowing about it … I’ll never say a word about it to anyone.”
“I would hope it doesn’t get out unless the worst happens or we mention it. Which I won’t ever,” Martin replied, according to the documents.
Cops also found messages the men sent to their colleague, the alleged victim’s sister — with Portillo allegedly saying he was “upset with” himself and “one thing led to another and alcohol influenced questionable decisions.”
On Aug. 7 — more than three weeks after the alleged attack — Heyman did a Google search asking, “How long does DNA stay in vagina?,” the docs said.
Martin has since retired, according to KOB4. Heyman and Portillo were both put on administrative leave, their department said, vowing to cooperate with cops.
“The allegations were alarming and we determined a thorough investigation was necessary to determine the facts,” department Chief Emily Jaramillo told the Albuquerque Journal, saying they “treat these allegations seriously.”
The three men have refused to talk to investigators, the report said. However, their lawyers all denied the allegations, with Martin’s attorney, Ben Ortega, calling the accuser a drug user who is “not credible.”
“As far as I’m concerned, none of these three men did anything wrong and now their careers as firefighters will be tarnished by these allegations,” he said.
Heyman’s attorney Jason Bowles said the firefighter “has committed no crime and is innocent of these charges.”
Portillo’s attorney Heather LeBlanc also said her client “adamantly maintains his innocence in this matter.”
“As a respected firefighter in our community, he has dedicated his life to helping others,” LeBlanc said.
“He is fully aware of the gravity of these charges and has fully cooperated with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation. We will be vigorously defending against these allegations to ensure that the truth prevails.”
The three men on Thursday appeared via video link in court, where they were kept in custody, KOB4 said.
Texas coaches charged with not reporting sexual assaults
because suspect was a ‘good player’: cops
By MaryAnn Martinez, NYPost
Published Aug. 30, 2023, 3:17 p.m. ET
Two Texas high school softball coaches have been charged with covering up a series of sexual assaults — allegedly because the suspect is “a good player” needed on the team.
Prosper High School head coach Renna Bersosa and her assistant Kasie Ostrom were told on Aug. 7 that one of their athletes had abused three other students during summer break sleepovers, according to a police affidavit obtained by the Dallas Morning News.
But Bersosa responded by saying that “the suspect in the sexual assaults is a good player, and they don’t want to lose her,” the reporting student told the cops.
The head coach told the student to “handle this with the suspect” herself — and to tell her “that if she does not stop committing sexual assault, she will report this to the coach,” the affidavit states.
The student said she then sent the accused abuser a text with that warning, the report said, without detailing if there was a response.
The embattled coaches were fired from Prosper High School, north of Dallas, Texas.
FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
Ostrom was also at the meeting but did not say anything, the reporting student’s mom told police.
Neither educator went to authorities, even though Texas law requires educators who believe such abuse may be occurring to report it within 48 hours, the Morning News noted.
When interviewed by the cops, Bersosa claimed “she was not aware she had to report a third-party allegation,” the affidavit said.
Head softball coach Renna Bersosa was arrested last week and has since bonded out.
Collin County Jail
Both coaches were arrested — Bersosa on Friday and Ostrom on Tuesday — on a charge of misdemeanor failure to report child abuse.
They have also been fired, the school district confirmed to the Morning News.
Assistant coach Kasie Ostrom was jailed Tuesday and has since made bond.
Collin County Jail
None of the students were identified, and it was not clear if any action was taken against the girl accused of sexual assault.
The district addressed the scandal in a letter to parents, Fox4 said.
“State law mandates educators file a report within 48 hours when they develop suspicions of potential child abuse or neglect,” the letter read.
“Prosper ISD requires employees to undergo training to ensure they know the proper steps to report such cases.”
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